Category: Countryside

Countryside, Foothills, MTBing, Photos, Racing

Titan Zapoteca MTB Race

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The 4th annual marathon race sponsored by the Titan Zapoteca mountain bike club took place on Sunday, March 15 on a wicked 42 kilometer (26 mile) loop course laid out around San Pablo Guila in Oaxaca, Mexico. Mountain bikers from various clubs all around the Oaxaca Valley converged on San Pablo for the contest. There were several other events taking place in the town at the same time, so the streets were jam-packed with vendors, visitors and townspeople. The race itself was an arduous one, as the course included steep climbs, some really scary technical descents and seemed to go on forever. The map below shows only 18 miles of the 26-mile total, as this reporter got leg cramps and had to cut the ride short, heading back into town on a paved road rather than riding the last 8 miles cross-country to finish the course. Amazingly, most of the riders who started the race actually did cross the finish line, earning a special pendant made for the event. The townspeople in general and the race organizers in particular did a splendid job of making the bikers welcome in their community.

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Countryside, MTBing, Outing, Photos

Wednesday Ride Takes A Turn

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The weekly Wednesday ride took a different turn on March 4. Originally the group planned to ride a singletrack trail from Oaxaca up into a mountain canyon. However, one of our party asked if his cousin, recently arrived from Mexico City could join in the outing. Turns out the cousin was a young lady of 13, who had never ridden a bike with multiple gears. So the group switched gears, so to speak, and changed course, opting for an easy ride on the paved bike path to Tule, then on to Santo Domingo Tomaltepec and back to Oaxaca on dirt roads running through – and with a lunch stop in – Tlalixtac. It turned out to be a pleasant few hours in the saddle, and the young cousin made it safely back home, tired but happy.

Countryside, MTBing, Photos

Wednesday Gringo Ride

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There happens to be a group of gringos in Oaxaca this winter who enjoy mountain biking, and Wednesdays seem to be the best day of the week for the group to get together. In recent weeks the gang has ridden trails in San Pablo Etla, La Cumbre and Huayapam. Today (18 February 2015) the ride was on the plateau above the village of San Pablo Cuatro Venados on the western rim of the Valley of Oaxaca. A network of little-used dirt roads provided the arena for several hours of pleasant pedaling at an altitude of just over 9,100 feet (2774 meters). Several of the group opted to bicycle back to Oaxaca, using the road that descends through Santa Ines de Monte and on down to Zaachila on the valley floor, rather than packing the bikes in the van and driving back the way we came up.

Countryside, GPS, MTBing, Photos, Racing

Mountain Bike Race at San Pablo Huixtepec

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The community of San Pablo Huixtepec hosted their first-ever mountain bike race today — Sunday, 25 January 2015. This also happened to be the first race of the new year in the Oaxaca Valley. There was also a series of foot races on the same course before the mountain bikers saddled up, so excitement ran high. Contestants came from a number of bike clubs in the area, with good representation from Oaxaca city.

The course laid out for the event ran 3.4 miles (5.47 km) through hill country, with an elevation gain and loss of 641 feet (195 meters) on the loop. At times it felt like more than that, as sections of the climb had a gradient of 14% and parts of the downhill ran a very steep 25% — the latter through a challenging jumble of rocks! The start / finish line sat at an elevation of 5160 feet (1572.8 meters); the highest point on the race circuit reached 5361 feet (1634.0 meters); the lowest point on the course was 4965 feet (1513.3 meters).

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Countryside, GPS, MTBing, Photos

Invitational Ride At San Antonio de la Cal

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The community of San Antonio de la Cal, a suburb on the southeastern edge of Oaxaca city, sponsored a mountain bike ride today — Sunday, 18 January 2015 — and sent out a general invitation to riders and mountain bike clubs to come. Several bike clubs from Oaxaca took part, as did others from around the Oaxaca valley. Approximately 140 riders gathered at the municipal building in Experimental to register at the start of the ride. Then it was off for a ride on city streets and jeep trails in the hills nearby! The day concluded with a hearty free meal for all participants provided by the community.

For riders who started from the Zocalo in Oaxaca, the day’s adventure racked up a total of 18.9 miles (30.4 km). Pedaling up and down the steep, rocky hills above La Cal — where the gradient ranged from 12% to 16% — brought the elevation gain and loss for the day to 1978 feet (602.9 meters).

Special thanks to Porfirio Santos Matías and Lic. Pedro Isidro Santos Matías, the head of the sports department in San Antonio de la Cal, for organizing the event; and to all the people who helped make it a success!

San Antonio de la Cal que es una comunidad a la periferia sureste de laciudad de Oaxaca patrocinó un evento de ciclismo de montaña el domingo 18de enero 2015. Ciclistas y clubes de ciclismo del valle central recibió unainvitación para participar. 140 ciclistas llegaron al edificio municipal enExperimental para inscribirse al evento. Luego comenzamos nuestro paseopor las calles de la ciudad y las sendas de terracería en las colinas cercanas. El día terminó con una comida para todos los participantes que la comunidadSan Antonio de la Cal muy amablemente nos brindó. Para los ciclistas que salieron del Zocalo en la ciudad de Oaxaca, el paseo arribade San Antonio de la Cal era de 18.9 millas de colinas con pendientes muyinclinados y rocosos y de una altura de ida y vuelta de 1978 pies (602.9 metros)

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